Our Events

Archived Exhibition

Briana Miele

To fulfill its objective of providing the USF art community with stimulating visual art experiences on the website, the Centre Gallery seeks to provide appropriate notification of mature content works. The following exhibition does include a mature content work that displays the photography of an animal's passing.

MEET YOUR ARTIST

My name is Briana Miele (she/her), and I am currently a first-year student. I graduated from Hillsborough High School IB. I have taken Higher Level, IB Art and AP Art. I have displayed my works in various shows throughout the community, including the Rembrandt Youth Art Show and my own exhibition at my previous high school. My favorite mediums are acrylic and oil. I hope to become more involved with the art community here on campus. Additionally, I aspire to attend medical school and become a surgeon.

ARTIST STATEMENT 

My vision for presenting my exhibition was to have the viewer observe a journey of metacognition. Metacognition is thinking about thinking and is utilized as a learning tool for students and teachers. I wanted to apply metacognition as a learning tool through a traumatic journey that one could unwillingly embark on. In an effort to exhibit my own experiences with metacognition and how I used metacognition to overcome and triumph through a challenging time in my life, I intend for my audience to connect to the works on a personal level. My intention is for the viewers to think about a time in their life when events were not suitable or for the viewer to think of a close friend who was going through rough patches. The viewer should feel empathetic towards themselves and towards anyone who goes through a trying event. What the viewer should take away from my exhibition is the tools and positivity needed to overcome taxing circumstances. The exhibition displays the journey of metacognition, in which the journeyer is continually placed in difficult situations; however, in the end, the journeyer comes out stronger. The viewer should be encouraged by the end of the exhibition that even in strenuous situations, there is always light and learning opportunities connected with the experiences. Becoming a stronger individual based upon complicated circumstances is one of the most rewarding and valuable feelings that one can receive. The exhibition is my internal view upon metacognition, and the viewer can take away with them the feeling of hope and triumph after overcoming any complication, no matter how big or small.

MATERIALS 

For this show, I used photography, acrylic, graphite pencil, and watercolor to portray my theme of metacognition. In my original exhibition, I exhibited my work in a small room to submerge the viewer into my mind and my journey through metacognition. I used walls with white backgrounds to imitate the inner working of the mind. I choose to install lights to create a better and more professional feel to the exhibition itself. I ensured that the lighting would enhance, rather than detract from the meaning and composition of my works. The goal of the light addition was to create a lasting visual impact on the viewer, to immerse the viewer into the exhibition by lighting up the path of the journey through the works of art.

Additionally, my exhibition contains two series that are related by their color scheme and their meanings. The Initial Ascent and The Descent (series) are connected by the monochromatic use of black and white. The pieces are placed at either end of the exhibition because Ascent is the beginning of the metacognition journey, and Descent is the end of the journey. Elysium & Concrete (series) are connected by Adobe Photoshop's filter Cyan. Before applying Cyan, I had to apply the Natural black and white filter first because applying Cyan first would have washed out the details of the decaying bird. Each of the pieces in my exhibition is in chronological order of when the event took place. I enhanced this meaning by placing four of the works on the left wall sloping downwards to mimic the feeling of the mental downfall of the artist.

ARTIST QUESTIONS

What is the inspiration for this current exhibition?
I was inspired by the photographers Henri Cartier Bresson and Edward Weston to capture seemingly mundane subject matter and artfully composing it, using a black and white filter in Adobe Photoshop. In Fracture, I planned the composition of the piece, as the shatters of the glass create a pattern. I had to ensure that I captured the part of the shattered glass that I thought had the best quality of the composition. I was inspired by Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa in my piece Reach for Drowning Success, which is the central piece, as it displays the beginning of the journeyer overcoming their difficult event. I was inspired to recreate this piece using a hand instead of the wave and by changing the overall meaning of the original work. Each of the photographs was carefully selected from my portfolio to assist the meaning of my exhibition to the viewer. My graphite drawing, acrylics paintings, and watercolor paintings were made based on the exhibition.

What is your process?
My vision of my exhibition was to display my own journey that I endured. I decided to use certain materials to best portray my journey. Sometimes, the journey was messy, and therefore, I portrayed that with watercolor. At some points, the journey was a revelation; therefore, I used stark graphite. Sometimes, the journey required attention to detail; therefore, I used acrylics. My exhibition took a total of two years to create and present. Some pieces took more time than others because I wanted to ensure that I portrayed the correct feelings that I was having on the canvas.

What are your goals after this year?
I intend to continue creating pieces of art. I would love to present another exhibition soon, with a different theme. I absolutely love getting the opportunity to portray my thoughts and feelings through my artwork. 

 

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Claire-Marie Rocke

MEET YOUR ARTIST

Claire-Marie Rocke (she/her) is a self-taught mixed media artist who loves to capture the world’s infinite beauty in all its forms. This is her first show. She plans to graduate from USF with a Biology degree and continue to use art as personal therapy.

ARTIST STATEMENT

These pieces attempt to illustrate the beauty and complexity of the human experience. The portraits seek to capture expressions and auras stamped in the artist's memory. "Cleopatra," in particular, is a drawing of the artist's mother right before Claire-Marie’s mom underwent breast cancer treatment. They all showcase strong, resilient Black women whether they put on a smile while caring for their families, push their bodies to the breaking point for the sake of dance, or grapple with the sadness and fear trapped in their eyes in private, but pose prettily in public. Similarly, "Forbidden fruit" explores the role of women but in religious doctrine. It is a visual representation of one of the misogyny tree roots, which encourages the viewer to question their beliefs about sin, blame, and culpability. This is reflected in the scumbling that mirrors the chaos and confusion of the ceaseless fight for equal rights. 

MATERIALS

“Limitless” and “Dae” were done in Procreate using an iPad and Apple Pencil. Pre-set Watercolor and Syrup brushes were used for the former, while charcoal was utilized for the latter. “Forbidden fruit” and “Cleopatra” were done using common office pens on sketch pad paper. 

ARTIST QUESTIONS

What is the inspiration for this current exhibition?
Beauty, strength, and pain are the inspiration for this current exhibition.

What is your process?
I tend to become enamored with faces, poses, and colors to the extent that I am compelled to draw them to capture them forever. I draw inspiration from the people and things around me, whether they are gorgeous photographs on social media or my closest family members.

What are your goals after this year?
I plan to continue pursuing her undergraduate Biology degree at USF to eventually become a geneticist or virologist. I also plan to devote more time to taking art classes to learn the basics.

 

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ABIGALE BROWN

MEET YOUR ARTIST

Abigale Brown (she/her) creates digital artworks based on deep thoughts and internal questions. She intends to become a digital cartoonist, specializing in creepy cartoon illustration. Abigale is a second-year student at USF, and her intended graduation year is 2022.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The intent of my show is to provoke viewers into thinking abstractly. Abigale wants her viewers to deeply consider the thoughts and questions posed in her work, and to contrast those ideas with the artwork presented beside it. Abigale used a digital animation and illustration platform called firealpaca to create my work.

What is the inspiration for this current exhibition?
Deep thoughts, questions, and internalized emotions.

What is your process?
I write down what I am thinking, any abstract thought that pops into my mind or any question I’ve been considering. Most importantly, I write the emotions tied to those thoughts, and create a digital illustration based on feelings.

What are your goals after this year?
I intend to continue creating digital works and spreading them.

 

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 Julianna Quiñones 

MEET YOUR ARTIST

Julianna Quiñones (they/them) is a 21-year-old multimedia experimental artist with interest in collage. They are a senior currently working towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of South Florida. In their personal practice, Quiñones explores the concept of the human condition through abstract representations to uncover human truths.

Artist Statement

This curated selection of works seeks to highlight the relationship between hyper-personal experiences and deeper human truths. In this series of images, there are recurring appearances of the bee and honeycomb. The bee stands as the single individual belonging to the honeycomb, the home to the colony on the whole. All people experience the same set of human truths, which provides a shared sense of belonging. The juxtaposition of human faces with bees serves to build this connection between personal experiences and the human condition overall the space between which the human sense of self lies. The first and final works of the show illustrate this most directly. Further, the bee/colony relationship parallels a collectivist society. The push and pull between individuals and the society on the whole is shown in the structure of the show. This is achieved within each piece directing emphasis to specific points in the image while generalizing the remainder of the work. The works alternate between varying degrees of abstracted portraiture and generalized landscapes to reflect this in the structure of the show. Overall, the show serves to prioritize the forest over the trees; human truths over personal experience. 

What is the inspiration for this current exhibition?
For this current exhibition, I wanted to showcase the overarching feel and voice of my work. I focus largely on design with a degree of abstraction. My work tends to be minimalist, including limited color palettes, to control and direct viewer’s focus. 

What is your process?
My process is typically more concept-driven. When I set out to make a piece, I have an idea of something I want to address and then choose which media will most effectively convey that idea. 

What are your goals after this year?
After this year, I plan on producing artwork to sell as prints/books/zines. I also plan on showcasing my work in more exhibitions.